In its 2024 Global Benchmark Report, Smart Communications provides insight into the “Customer Experience in Insurance.” The report sheds new insights into what experience insurance customers are receiving and what they want.
Key Findings
- Communication and data collection methods significantly impact a customer’s experience. The survey found that 85% of insurance companies feel communications are either very important or somewhat important to their customers’ overall experience. While just 41% of their customers say the communication they receive are very good or excellent, 14% rate it as not good or poor.
- Customer loyalty is tied to communication quality and data collection practices.
- Trust and data security are more critical than ever for insurance customers.
- Popularity of mobile and web-friendly interactions continues to grow.
- Customers urge transparency and ethical use of GenAI in insurance communications.
These findings were based on the input provided from thousands of insurance companies worldwide in a survey conducted by an independent research firm. The growing need for insurance companies to enhance their online processes (i.e., mobile apps, secure customer portals, online educational material) has been know for the past several years, especially given the younger generations heavy reliance on their mobile devices and preference to communicate via texts, chat boxes, etc., over in-person meetings.
Customers’ heightened focus on data security is a more recent development which is not lost on insurance companies, particularly in light of the survey’s findings. Sixty-two percent of insurance customers indicated that they would end interactions with other companies whose data collection processes are too difficult, and therefore could compromise data security. In the United States, customers had the lowest tolerance of challenging data collection processes.
Customer retention is a priority for insurance companies and building that is closely-linked to the quality of a company’s data collection processes. Building customer loyalty and retaining customers is a key growth metric for insurers. When happy with their insurance companies, not only will a customer remain loyal, but 77% said they would refer others to the company thereby supporting its growth.
High-quality and ease of communication remains a foundation for strong customer relations. Eighty-five percent of insurance companies feel communications are either very important or somewhat important to their customers’ overall experience. High quality and frequent communication provided in multiple mediums (i.e., online, print materials, emails, educational webinars, and customer appreciation events), in addition to easy, transparent, and secure data collection processes, are key to growth.